


Perfect Fit

by allofuswithwings



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Humor, Innuendo, M/M, Season/Series 02, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 18:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/612707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allofuswithwings/pseuds/allofuswithwings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwen makes her way to Arthur’s chambers and overhears something that she perhaps thinks she shouldn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect Fit

**Author's Note:**

> Beta: [xanium](http://xanium.livejournal.com/)

~*~  
  
Gwen smiled to herself as she made her way through the castle toward Arthur’s chambers. She was on her way, on behalf of Lady Morgana, to ask the Prince what time they would be leaving the following morning. Arthur had agreed to accompany them to visit one of Morgana’s friends in a neighbouring land, knowing it would be good to strengthen ties with the royal house there.  
  
But Gwen was happy because she knew Arthur had agreed out of a want to spend social time with Morgana. Their relationship had been rocky in the past, but fortunately the conflict between them had appeared to be fading over the last couple of months. Everyone in the castle seemed to be calmer because of it.  
  
Gwen knew Uther would prefer Morgana and Arthur to develop their bond even further, but she herself thought it unlikely anything romantic would come of their relationship. Perhaps when they were a little younger and more swayed by physical impulses there had been something there, but somehow that had only resulted in them being at each other’s throats instead. Besides, Gwen had always thought their pairing a little odd; Morgana had known Arthur so long that he was more like a brother than a lover.  
  
Gwen reached Arthur’s chambers and was about to knock when she saw the door ajar, and heard low voices from inside. She recognised them immediately as Arthur and Merlin.  
  
“Come _on_ , Merlin. We haven’t got all day.”  
  
“I know, _sire_ , but it’s not as easy as you always make it out to be.”  
  
“It can’t be that difficult; we’ve done it before.”  
  
“Yes, but not for a while. That might be the problem.”  
  
Gwen thought about entering, but paused when she heard muffled grunts and groans, then bodies moving and shuffling.  
  
“Ugh, that’s it— go on then.”  
  
“Arthur – _unf_ – you can’t just force it in; it doesn’t work like that.”  
  
Gwen’s mouth fell open a little at the words and sounds coming from inside the chamber. It couldn’t possibly what she thought. Could it...?  
  
“Yes, I can. It’s the best way—”  
  
“Ow! That hurt, you prat!”  
  
Gwen’s cheeks coloured as she heard Arthur breathing heavily and Merlin making noises of discomfort.  
  
“Oh, stop whining, honestly. You’re _always_ like this.”  
  
“Because you’re always such a brute! You have to learn that sometimes things just don’t work the way you want them to.”  
  
“Well, how can something that’s fit perfectly well before, suddenly not fit anymore?”  
  
“Because you’re being a clot about it. It makes it more difficult for it to go in.”  
  
Gwen raised her hand to her mouth as she heard more heavy breathing from inside the chamber, and the sound of fabrics moving against each other.  
  
“Oh, that’s it, I can feel it,” Arthur murmured. “Just a bit more, Merlin.”  
  
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Merlin replied, with a grunt. “If I just move a bit this way, and your leg that way...”  
  
There was a thump and another groan from Arthur, followed by silence punctuated only by gasping breaths.  
  
“ _Finally_. It’s in,” Arthur sighed with relief. “Now for the other one.”  
  
Gwen furrowed her brow in confusion. _Other_ one?  
  
Perhaps what she’d thought they were doing in there was not exactly what was truly going on. She shook her head at herself for having such wicked thoughts.  
  
She lifted her hand and knocked at the door.  
  
“Enter,” Arthur called.  
  
Indeed, the scene that met Gwen’s eyes was not the one she’d imagined in her head.  
  
Merlin was crouched beside Arthur, who was sat on the bed, and was currently unlacing a walking boot. The matching shoe was already fitted tightly to Arthur’s foot.  
  
Arthur looked up as Gwen entered.  
  
“Ah, Guinevere, I’m glad you’re here,” he said. “There’s a few things I need you to pass on to Morgana about the trip.”  
  
Gwen’s eyes tracked down to Merlin’s flushed face as he struggled with the other shoe.  
  
“Hey Gwen,” Merlin said, looking up and grinning. “Looking forward to tomorrow?”  
  
Arthur frowned at him, cuffing him around the ear.  
  
“Concentrate on what you’re doing, then maybe this one won’t be as much of an ordeal as you made the last one.”  
  
Merlin stopped, staring up at the Prince in disbelief.  
  
“ _Me?_ You were the one acting like an arse, making it hard for me,” he shot back. “It’s not my fault your feet have gotten fatter since last year.”  
  
Arthur made a choking noise of indignation and slapped his servant about the head again.  
  
“My feet have not gotten fatter, Merlin!”  
  
Merlin yanked Arthur’s leg roughly in retaliation.  
  
“How do you explain it then— that your shoes don’t fit anymore?”  
  
Arthur deliberately let his foot step on Merlin’s fingers, drawing a yelp from the young man.  
  
“Perhaps it’s my useless _servant_ who doesn’t know how to store things properly, making my shoes shrink in the damp,” the Prince growled. “And also apparently has no idea how to fit them on me anyway.”  
  
Merlin sighed and shook his head as he began to shove Arthur’s foot into the other boot.  
  
“The things I have to put up with,” he muttered, throwing Gwen a cheeky grin.  
  
Arthur must have heard this because Merlin received another swift slap across the head. He glared at the Prince.  
  
“Prat.”  
  
“Idiot.”  
  
Gwen watched the entire exchange with a hand up at her mouth, trying to hide a smile. She didn’t feel quite so bad about her wicked thoughts of earlier when she saw Arthur and Merlin like this.  
  
Sometimes, the pair of them were like an old married couple. They’d bicker and insult one another constantly, but all the while Gwen could see their affection for each other in their gazes and physical interaction. It would be no surprise to her, or anyone else in the castle for that matter, if Arthur and Merlin truly _were_ involved in a more intimate way. Though she’d never voice the thought out loud for fear of a week in the stocks, she found the idea of them as a couple incredibly sweet.  
  
“Would you like me to come back, my lord?” she asked. “If you’re busy...”  
  
“No, I apologise for the distraction,” Arthur said firmly, throwing Merlin an irritated glance. “You are here on behalf of Morgana, yes?”  
  
Gwen nodded, smiling as her eyes wandered over Merlin manoeuvring Arthur’s leg, wrestling with the boot. She noted the way Arthur’s hand rested upon Merlin’s shoulder as he did this.  
  
“Yes, sire,” she replied. “As you said, about the trip tomorrow.”  
  
Gwen pressed her lips together to stifle a grin as Merlin’s hand grasped Arthur’s thigh for leverage, and the Prince’s grip slipped up to the back of his servant’s neck.  
  
“I thought we’d leave just after sunrise,” Arthur said. “Get an early start to arrive on time.”  
  
He let out a grunt as his servant collapsed against his legs, the boot finally slipping on, and Merlin flashed a triumphant grin.  
  
“Ha! Not so useless after all,” Merlin announced, breathing hard.  
  
Gwen watched Arthur’s soft gaze track over his servant, a small smile on his lips, before Merlin turned his head to look up at the Prince. At this, Arthur quashed any visible signs of his appreciation for his manservant.  
  
“I suppose you’ll do,” he sighed.  
  
Merlin grinned up at him, clearly unashamed of his own affection for his master, on display for all to see. Gwen could see how this disconcerted the Prince a little, and couldn’t help but laugh this time.  
  
Arthur shot her a confused look.  
  
“What are you laughing at?”  
  
Pressing her lips together again to hide her amusement, Gwen shook her head, eyes dancing.  
  
“Nothing, my lord,” she replied. “Nothing at all.”  
  
~*~


End file.
